Music from Ys
I planned to make a review of Ys Seven; but decided to forget about it since I wouldn’t be able to create decent video of gameplay as it’s a PSP game. Instead I will focus one of the renowned aspect of the franchise, the music which was the first reason why I decided to play the game. Though to understand the music, it’s better to get acquainted with the game. So I will cover a bit the game, then the music of game I have played. Just to warn, it’s world apart from Shikata Akiko and Kanon Wakeshima’s song, expect rocky music!
Every Ys game follows the adventure of Adol Christin, adventurer also known as Adol the Red, 700 years ago. He has every qualities of hero. Silent, strong, extreme bad luck with boats, trouble magnet, and a natural lady killer. Random fact: Adol Christin seems to be the source of inspiration of Kenjiro Hata for Hayasaki Hayate ( yes that butler in debt ), and when asked about which historical figure he would draw, Kenjiro Hata would draw Adol ( while other mangaka certainly answered with real character xD )
It’s a JRPG, so expect some déjà-vu in story and place. However, it’s an action RPG or hack and slash, both fits the bill. It’s extremely fast paced, with fodder enemies, big hard bosses, and a game over screen you will get familiar with. The nervousness of the game is also quite noticeable in the music.
In most RPG, music is fitting to the general ambiance of the place. It’s background music, which blends with the game. Falcom Sound Team JDK begs to differ to some extent; it’s a general “Let’s rock!”. While cutscene will get the music to get the proper mood, fields, dungeon, are where the liberty shines. Mystic ruins? Bring on the electric guitar!
The first Ys I played was the VI, the Ark of Napishtim on PSP. Not the best port, but it was a cool introduction to a good battle system though perfectible and music, starting with the opening.
The Ark of Napishtim is a bit of an exception at the rules I said earlier, as synthesizer is heavily used through the OST. It’s not my favorite OST of the series but that’s what I started with. I liked quite a few tracks, but the most awesome was “Mighty Obstacle”, for MIGHTY BOSS! And they all are to a certain extent.
But the first few games were on old computer, meaning using MIDI.
Considering that I have yet to play Ys I, II ( waiting for PSP game ), IV, V ( lack of translation , I will skip to Ys III with the field map music, one of the first music, “The boy’s got wings”:
This is the original version, on SNES in 1991. I was only 2 years old so of course I didn’t play that one. But I played The Oath in Felghana which is a remake of it ( and the best Ys IMO ), and the OST is epic.
Fully instrumented this time, here is “The boy’s got wings”, which is the first music you hear when getting out of town:
It’s still a bit hard for me to believe that I would get this for a field map music, but it gives to the adventure a taste that I have hardly found in other RPG: I’m a freaking CHOSEN HERO! Moreover, Adol is a very fast hero highly agile so the title fit him quite well. Final Fantasy has been known for having several remixed soundtrack; Ys also got them. Personally, re-arranged OST are rarely up to my taste, and the remix provided for “The Boy’s Got Wing”, is middle the case.
A bit of a short, so here is a second service, “Sealed Time”, theme of a clock tower. When I think of clock tower, I often think of Castlevania, especially Symphony of the night’s “Tragic Prince”. But here, we are not in the Goth, but in the Rock! Once again, SNES version, then PC, and remixed:
The orchestral remix is by an order of magnitude even more epic than the game version; in fact too much for it to be integrated as it doesn’t fit the game OST, nor the game. The Oath in Felghana has simply the Rockest OST of all RPG I have played to date.
One of the best composition for the duo of electric guitar and violin is in the remixes of Ys Origin ( I put it’s opening at the top of this post )
This is the theme for a lava place of the game. Game version used guitar and synth, but the remix switched the synth for the violin. I like the attack part middle way and the guitar follow up. Both instrument shine here and make it one of the coolest music from a game remix.
Moving on with Ys Seven which I finished recently. As expected the music is on par with what I have come to expect.
Once again, it’s a the field map and boss themes which are the main attraction.
Mother Earth Altago has a nice start. It’s like discovering the new land on which Adol just set foot; slashing monsters. The second field theme, which is available latter in the game, underlines the determination of the hero. I prefer by a very small margin this second one, for the synth and violin part. Vacant Interference is the boss theme, and it’s as striking as Mighty Obstacle.
Ys doesn’t always rock your hears; parts require of course calmer music, and Falcom deliver as well in those area, with very good town music, sad one but this is already more common. The remixes can be orchestral, rock, jazz, piano, vocals and more. For now I will just provide some more track and the OST.
The Oath in Felghana:
Soothing song for a change, and simple.
Yes, these are ruins music. The beginning is quite awesome, with a blend of electric guitar and acoustic one.
More dungeon music. First is for lava underground, rock as expected. The second one if memory serves me right, is for ice mountain. Contrary to other game which has rather chilly music, here we have a march; the struggle of the hero against the cold wind! Last one is for a castle; when you first hear it it’s like “Hello, I’m not sorry at all for barging in and slashing everything that move!”.
Ys Origin:
This Genesis Beyond the Beginning is a remix of the opening, with piano and violin only and a slower pace. It’s a very nice one and contrast with a lot of the other musics. The other one is a boss theme, Jazzy and Techno fusion, pretty cool one.
Ys The Ark of Napishtim
While not my favorite, it’s the one I started with and it has some good tracks like Moutain Zone, Windslash Step, ERNST.
Ys The Oath in Felghana OST + SAV
If there is one OST to get, it’s this one.
No comments yet.